Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Security

Phoenix Program

In an attempt to cripple or eliminate South Vietnamese communist guerilla
resistance (the Vietcong) to both United States forces and the U.S.-backed
government of South
Vietnam, the Phoenix program was allegedly designed to conduct arrest and
assassination operations against suspected Vietcong and Vietcong
sympathizers. The Phoenix program was developed and operated by the United
States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the United States Army, and
components of several South Vietnamese intelligence and law enforcement
agencies.

U.S. CIA personnel (including those assigned to Intelligence Coordination
and Exploitation operations) provided the core of Phoenix leadership.
Starting in 1967, the program, which was based in Saigon (then the capital
of South Vietnam) used a complex network of informants, a mix of military
intelligence, and even trials at computer algorithms to determine
appropriate targets for "neutralization." In 1968, CIA
officer William Colby (who would become Director of Central Intelligence
in 1973) assumed command of the program.

Initially named the Phuong Hoang Operation (named after a mythical
Vietnamese bird of prey), the renamed Phoenix program resulted in the
arrest, detention, brutal interrogation, and execution of thousands of
Vietcong fighters and sympathizers at the hands of South Vietnam police
and intelligence agencies. In addition to identifying suspected Vietcong
and Vietcong sympathizers, Phoenix intelligence operations also
accumulated data that exonerated thousands of suspects. Phoenix
operations, and the identification of Vietcong infrastructure became
increasingly important after the 1968 Tet Offensive and Phoenix generated
intelligence was used to determine military targets.

█ FURTHER READING:

BOOKS:

Colby, William E., and James McCargar.
Lost Victory: A First Hand Account of America's Sixteen-year
Involvement in Vietnam.
Chicago, IL: Contemporary Books, 1989.